Lawyers Profile of Bandhu

Background

Bandhu Social Welfare Society (Bandhu) through its substantive works in the area of sexual health and rights of sexual and gender diversified population has witnessed numerous cases of persistent violence, harassment and human rights violations against this community and the number has been increasing alarmingly in the recent time. As part of its commitment to address the human rights and social justice of this community, Bandhu initiated Bandhu Panel Lawyer in 64 districts with an objective to provide the community members with an easy access to information and assistance on legal issues through them.

Objectives

The primary objective of creating Bandhu panel lawyer is to ensure legal support and counselling for sexual and gender diversified population in every district across the country. The specific objectives are to:

Create a reliable, community friendly legal support avenue in protection and promotion the rights of sexual and gender diversified population;

Enable access to justice for the sexual and gender diversified population;

Strengthen legal support department and Ain Alap of Bandhu;

Situation of SOGI and Transgender in Bangladesh from Human Rights Perspective

SOGI and Transgender (generally known as hijra in Bangladesh) refers to persons who lives as a member of a gender other than that assigned at birth based on anatomical sex. Most people legally define transgender as man or woman who will have to change their legal, social, and physical status — or parts thereof – to correspond with their gender identity.

Transgender and Hijra often become victims of various types of human rights violation due to the crisis of their gender identity in Bangladesh. They are excluded from effectively participating in social and cultural life; economy; politics and decision-making processes from socio-economic and political context. Due to the predominant norms in Bangladeshi society, transgender and hijra have more or less always forced to give up their families. Discrimination and abuse are also common scenarios in an adolescent transgender and hijra’s life.

As a result, overall situation of Transgender and Hijra community makes them extremely vulnerable and sexually marginalized who are also considered more socially marginalized than any other group in Bangladesh. In practice, they are excluded from accessing social institutions and social services, such as schooling, housing and basic health care services. In addition to the social discrimination, members of the transgender and hijra community face daily accounts of domination, acts of violence and abuse from other Bangladeshi citizens not willing to accept their existence. Gross human rights violations have often been reported by civil society movements advocating for transgender and hijra rights. Violations occur in the forms of abduction, arbitrary arrests, detention, beatings and gang rape etc. by various perpetrators.